This Memorial Day weekend, there is a lot to celebrate and remember. As always, this important holiday allows us to pause and remember those who dedicated and sacrificed their lives for our country. So to our members who served in the military, and to all our active and veteran members of the armed forces we are grateful for your service.
At ASCE, we are pleased that the Water Resources & Reform Development Act (WRRDA) conference committee report was voted on and approved by the House on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday. The bill, which authorizes $12 billion in water projects, now moves to the White House for the president’s signature. It is also important to note that while we so often talk about the gridlock in Washington, WRRDA passed with remarkable bipartisan support.
Given the holiday weekend and unofficial start of summer travel, our friends at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a report about Americans’ tendency to “Travel Like a Local” while visiting a city.
However, the unofficial start of summer also marks that we are inching closer to the Highway Trust Fund’s insolvency. Hopefully, passing WRRDA can serve as a springboard to further infrastructure legislation for transportation infrastructure.
As Americans hit the road this weekend, a reliable funding source for the Highway Trust Fund may be far from most drivers’ minds, but what won’t be is sitting in traffic or avoiding potholes, reminders of the failure to act and its consequences. Suggestions about ways to fix the upcoming insolvency continue, including from the American Trucking Association (ATA) this week, which announced support for indexing the federal fuel tax to inflation. On The Huffington Post, an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) analyst also encouraged fixing the gas tax to reflect current costs.
Have a safe and fun holiday weekend! And feel free to take the opportunity to advocate to #fixtheTrustFund and #RebuildRenew while you’re stuck in traffic (just don’t tweet while driving, please).